Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-01-06
PRETTY SHOP-GIRLs.
They Earn Wages for Their Good Looks Dur
ing the Holiday SeasonThe Story of Mary
Rogers Retold-A Growing Evil.

Rogers RetOld-A Growing Evil.
New York Commercial Advertiser
Nearly all the old New Workers remem-
Der the murder of pretty Mary Rogers.
the cigar-girl, and many citizens not vet
beyond middle age can wildly recall the
dark details of the crime, for il occurred
less than thirty years ego. The girls
great beauty had made her widely known.
and the sensation caused by the shock
1ngly brutal manner of her death, to-
gether with the deep MYSTERY surround
ing 1t, attracted national attention at the
time. Afterward Edgar Allen Poe, in his
striking story of "Marie Roget" which is
simply an elaborate and ingenious thoors
of the murder Of Mary Rogeos, gave the
case apermanent and universal interest,
The facts, in brief, were these:
Mary Rogers, remarkably beautiful
young woman, was placed with her father
consent in charge of the cigar-stand in a
well known little shop located on a lead
ing thoroughfare. Mary's pretty face
drew an enormous custom. She soon be-
came kaown all over town as the s'pretty
cigar girl" Naturally she had made ad-
mirers Of all classes by the score, but she
had no accepted lover, and, although of
agreeable manners with the many custo-
mers, she was generally considered an I'm
usually discreet girl. One afternoon she
mysteriously disappeared from the shop.
The next day, after extended search, her
dead body was found in lonely SPOT
partly concealed by low bushes, near the
North river. The baby bore marks of
violence, the clothing was torn, and there
were evidences of a struggle near the
thicket. This was absolutely all that
bould be learned about the crime I'm
usually vigorous and long continued eff
forts failed to reveal a trace of the muir
de1er. There was no one to whom
reasonable clew pointed, much less upon
whom suspicion conld be fastened. and
the mystery remains unexplained to this
day.
Just now [ am reminded very forcibly
of the fate of poor Mary Rogers" said an
Old detective few days ago, after wildly
reciting the particulars of the crime, be-
cause the practice which cost the girl her
life is unusully prevalent again. OF course
Mary Rogers death was directly due to
her fathers cupidity. He allowed her to
be placed In the show solely because he
knew her beauty would attract CROWDS of
youths and blase swells. His
circumstances were comfortable, and
there was no real necessity for the girls
public exhibition in that way. He must
have known the temptations and dangers
to which a young girl would be subjected
in such position, but his greed was
stronger than his paternal instincts if
he ever had any, which we, who worked
on the case, were inclined to doubt, and
the public was very largely with US on
that point: in fact, the feeling against
old Rogers, after Mary's murder, was so
intense that he was in nearly as great
danger for time as the real assassin
would have been if caught. The old man
left New York soon afterward, however,
and an effectual stop was put to the ques-
tiOnable method of drawing trade which
he had introduced at the expense of his
daughters life. For long time pretty
shop girls we're at a decided discount in
this city.
"But. as started to say, the custom is
prevalent again. Just at this time OF the
year it is glaringly SO. Stores of almost
every sort employ the prettiest girls they
can hire, especially for the holiday season.
L am willing to risk my reputation as a
guesser on the statement that twenty
thousand girls in New York and Brook
Ign will earn wages for their good looks
during the next six weeks. Perhaps half
that number are steadily employed the
year through for the same reason.
"Within the last four years there has
been marked revival of the pretty shop
girl system. Dry goods stores, book
stores, and confectioners shops now haye
girl clerks and cashiers almost exclu-
sively. In some drug stores girls are
hired to tend the soda-fouptains. There
are cigar stores also with young women
clerks. L know of one place uptown
where the young woman is almost as
strikingly handsome as was poor Mary
Rogers herself. Girls are employed for
similar services in various other estab-
llshments. They are always engaged
with an eye of their good looks. Of
course, women labor is cheaper than that
of men, and this doubtless has something
to do with the large number of girls en-
ployed in public places. But good looks
arc still greater consideration in many
cases.
"Men frequently advertise for from ten
to fifty beautiful young women. And she
advertisers don't entend to start com
petitive beauty shows, either. They
simply want to incre ase their business by
using pretty female faces. [ have been
connected with several anti vice societies
since retired from the detective force.
and have seen a good deal of this sort
of thing. There is but one legal proven
tive, and that applies only to girls under
Is years of age. They can be stopped
from working by the act for the proven
ton of cruely to children. In other cases
unless some immoral feature in the work
can be proved, there in nothing to keep
a girl with good-looking face from |
renting 1T out as an advertisement, or to
hinder store-keeper from hiring her. |
Some of the store-keepers make no secret |
of their object in employing pretty shop
girls. Only last week fouAd a man who |
had hired three very handsome girls in |
and notion store on a promi- |
nent downtown street. He said, coolly |
enough, that he had engaged them for |
the sole purpose of catching trade by
their attraction faces. As it happened. |
all three of them were under age, and my
Ingenious gentleman was persuaded to |
give them up under threat Of prosecu-
ton. We have pursued the same course
in many other cases."
DO you meet much opposition it that |
Yes, good deal. In the majority of |
cases the employers or the girls parents
Il